(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this Spicy Cannellini Bean Salad with Tuna, Peperoncini, and Parsley is something I would enjoy for lunch any time of year. If you have fresh parsley in your garden, give this a try!)

I made this Spicy Cannellini Bean Salad with Tuna, Peperoncini, and Parsley over and over this summer, after I got infatuated with peperoncini, those slightly hot and spicy peppers that come in a jar with brine. It's definitely a variation of my White Bean Salad with Tuna and Parsley, and the first few times I made this, it was just for lunch, with no thought of blogging the recipe.

Then when I realized I'd made it for the third time, I decided the the addition of peperoncini added such a kick to this salad that maybe some other peperoncini-lovers out there would like to try it. If you're a South Beach dieter who's looking for things you can make ahead and take to work for your lunch, this salad would be a perfect option for that too.

While the beans are draining, whisk together lemon juice, peperoncini juice, olive oil, and a bit of salt and fresh ground black pepper to make the dressing.

Then mix the drained beans with a few tablespoons of dressing so the beans can marinate while you prep the other ingredients.

I used about 2 T of chopped peperoncini and 4 T chopped parsley, but you can use more of either one if you prefer.

Decide whether the salad seems too dry, and stir in a bit more dressing if desired. (I used about 3/4 of the dressing and saved the rest for a green salad later.) Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Spicy Cannellini Bean Salad with Tuna, Peperoncini, and Parsley
(Makes 2-4 servings, depending on what else you eat with it, recipe created by Kalyn as a variation of White Bean Salad with Tuna and Parsley, a summer lunch favorite for years.)

Put the beans into a colander placed in the sink, rinse well with cold water (until no more foam appears) then let beans drain (or blot dry with paper towels if you're in a hurry!)

Whisk together the lemon juice, peperoncini juice, and olive oil, then add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. (I used a generous amount of pepper, but not much salt.) Combine the drained beans with 2 T of dressing and let marinate while you prep the other ingredients.

Mix the drained tuna, chopped parsley, and chopped peperoncini into the marinating beans and gently combine. Add additional dressing until the salad seems wet enough to you (I used about 3/4 of the dressing.) Season to taste with additional salt and fresh ground black pepper if desired, and serve.

This can be served room temperature or chilled. This salad will stay good in the refrigerator for a day or two, and would be great to take to work for a lunch salad.

I can think of a lot of other things you could add to this salad including diced red onion, chopped kalamata olives, chopped red bell pepper, or chopped cucumber. If anyone tries some of those variations, I'd love to hear how you liked them.

South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This is a perfect lunch salad or side dish salad for any phase of the South Beach Diet, or any type of low-glycemic eating plan. The salad isn't low in fat, but olive oil is a "good fat" for the South Beach Diet.

I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you're a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

More Recipe Ideas for Peperoncini Lovers:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)

(Want even more recipes? I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.)

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I've been wondering about those peperoncini every time I pick up my husband's bread and butter pickles at the store. Are they really hot or just a little bit hot? I usually use sweet red bell peppers in my hummus, but I've been thinking about something like the peperoncini to spice things up a bit.

Love your web site! Love that pepperoncini addition to tuna bean salad, and can't wait to try it! I make one similar, with tuna packed in olive oil, but, like Cookie Crumb says, I save the oil from the tuna for the dressing. You won't believe how much flavor it adds to the dish. I hope you try it.

Delicious - I'm eating it right now. I sprinkled a *little* feta on top and I think it's a nice addition. I think tomatoes would be good in it too. Kalyn, I love your blog, it has helped me so much. Whenever I have ingredients and need inspiration, I turn to your blog. I've shared many of your recipes with others.

I just tried this recipe for dinner tonight and it was super delicious! Might be my new favorite tuna salad variation. I ate it wrapped up in long romaine lettuce leaves like your more recent tuna salad post suggested and it was a perfect phase one meal.

Just made this for lunch with banana peppers by mistake. I'm thinking the pepperocinis would be better, but this isn't bad, especially for someone who wants a milder salad. I poured the extra dressing on some tomatoes on the side. Yummy!

We made this with the addition of some red onion and loved it. I didn't drain the tuna so didn't need to use any separate olive oil. Maybe next time I'll throw in some chopped walnuts to add even more crunch. Thanks for the recipe!

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